John Alfred Ford (17 February 1906 – 20 February 1985) was a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Ford, a number eight, was born in

Sheffield, Tasmania Sheffield is a town 23 kilometres inland from Devonport on the north-west coast of Tasmania. Sheffield has long been the rural hub for the Mount Roland area. The Sheffield area is well known for its high quality butterfat production via dairy ...

and claimed a total of 11 international rugby caps for Australia. His brother

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

was also an Australian rugby union representative player.

Family and early life

One of three children, his publican father died when Jack was aged four and the family moved from Tasmania to Sydney. Together with his brothers

and Percy, Jack Ford became a boarder at St Joseph's CollegeHowell pp226 where he learned his rugby under the guidance of the legendary Brother Henry. He was a good student and won a College bursary which allowed him to attend College for a total of eight years. He was an outstanding cricketer and boxer while at school and matured to an ideal physique for all these sports.

Rugby career

After leaving school, he joined the Glebe-Balmain Club with his brothers. At 20 he made his debut for NSW against New Zealand and made an immediate impression with his explosive running, which led to his selection in the 1927–28 Waratahs tour of the British Isles, France and Canada. On that tour, among a veritable firmament of rugby stars, Ford stood out for his great vision, which identified opposition weaknesses. When the Waratahs were within striking distance, canny captain Johnnie Wallace, Ford's team-mate at Glebe-Balmain, invariably pulled Jack Ford out of the pack to play at second five-eighth. With his flashing speed, immense strength and sheer size (he was by far the biggest man in the Waratah team), he was virtually unstoppable and scored twelve tries from this tactic in twenty-four matches on tour as well as setting up many more for others to score after he had made the break. Jack Ford's career continued in 1929 when he played for the first Australian team to win all internationals against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In a great Australian pack, his was the stroke of genius and he scored tries in each of the final two Tests with his pace, strength and uncanny ability to read the game. He retired in 1930, a winner in eight of his last nine Tests after Australia's win over the 1930 British Lions. He had played in addition to all his representative games, a total of 65 games for Glebe-Balmain and Drummoyne. The Welsh Rugby Union sent him a set of scarlet red jumpers to mark the change in the Club name from Glebe-Balmain to

Drummoyne Drummoyne is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Drummoyne is six kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative center for the local government area of the City of ...

and the Club still plays in those scarlet colours to this day.

Recognition

In 1999, for the 125th Anniversary Celebration of the foundation of the New South Wales Rugby Union in the Southern Hemisphere, a panel of experts was asked to select the best XV that had ever appeared for New South Wales and Australia. Without exception, Jack Ford's name came up as the greatest ever number eight. He was inducted into the

Australian Rugby Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...

Hall of Fame in 2016.

References

Published sources

* Howell, Max (2006) ''Born to Lead — Wallaby Test Captains (2005)'' Celebrity Books, New Zealand {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Jack Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players 1906 births 1985 deaths People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill Rugby union players from Tasmania Rugby union number eights